One for the Money, Two for the Show
by EAPhelps327
Summary: Rachel has finally had enough. After portraying herself as a character, she's about to let McKinley see what she's really all about! Rated M to be safe for later chapters. Warning, this is my first story
1. Chapter 1

**I do not own Glee, any of the characters you may recognize or any music that may be used in this story.**

Rachel took a deep breath as she sat in the driver's seat of her gleaming red Lexus LF-A. The shiny vehicle was getting a lot of attention in the public school parking lot where few cars were worth more than $20,000..

It wasn't that she was nervous. She was merely fortifying herself, preparing mentally for the waves she was about to make among the McKinley High student body. She couldn't even lie and say she wouldn't enjoy the attention. She was Rachel Barbra Berry, after all-a performer to the last breath. Her reputation at McKinley was one of being an obnoxious, ambitious, loud-mouthed diva that was at the bottom of the social ladder. Today, that was all to change. The _real_ Rachel was about to come out to play.

When Rachel had first moved to Lima both the beginning the summer after her freshman year, she was definitely not impressed. As a girl who was used to traveling all around the world for vacations and living in a city where there was always something to do, a little town in the middle of Nowhere, Ohio with only one restaurant was a big change. But when your daddy is offered the spot as head of the cardiology department, what can you do? Luckily, Lima was only a little under two hours away from Columbus and the friends and life she grew up with.

As Rachel acquainted herself with the little town through early morning jogs and wondering around in boredom an idea had popped in to her head. She decided that she would amuse herself and practice her acting skills by creating a character. A role that she would portray at school.

And that was who she was known as among her fellow students at McKinley. The facade she created and has lived by, in public anyway. She was the brash little Jewish girl with bad fashion sense and an overbearing personality.

Her friends in Columbus were thoroughly enthralled with her soap opera like life. From the big, dumb quarterback, the knocked up Christian girl, the self-proclaimed sex shark, their twisted love triangle, the teacher who tries to live vicariously through them and everyone in between, there were many stories to be shared. When Rachel and all her Columbus friends got together once a month, it was pretty much laughter nonstop. The only bad part was that Rachel was seemingly alone throughout it all. But she said have one person in her corner.

Since Rachel was six, she'd had one constant best friend-Brittany S. Pierce. They had met in their dance classes and then again in gymnastics. It was an instant friendship after their first sleepover where they danced around and sang along to Disney movies. As a token of their best friendship, Rachel gifted Brittany her first stuffed duck.

Even when Brittany moved to Lima in middle school they remained best friends. They called each other every few days and still went to dance competitions and sleepovers together. It was pure luck that Rachel's dad's new job was close enough that they could live in Limstand she would be with Brittany again.

The summer that Rachel moved, Brittany had been away at cheer camp with the Cheerios. By the time she came back, Rachel had already started to develope her role. To say Brittany wasn't happy would be an understatement, but she had no real room to judge. She let nearly everyone around her believe that she was just some dumb blonde, and she couldn't deny that this would make school much more entertaining.

As sophomore year passed they stayed secret friends. More often than not Britt would go with Rachel on her weekend visits to Columbus. It was even Brittany who helped set up the idea for the Unholy Trinity to infiltrate the Glee club. It didn't hurt that her Aunt Sue was in on it and loved Rachel like a daughter.

As her junior year passed by Rachel started to grow weary of keeping up the charade. There was just only so much a girl could put up with. The breaking point came in December wheit it finally came out that Finn had lied about being a virgin. It wasn't that he hurt her feelings, because she never _truly_ liked him. It was more that he pulled such a dick move, lying to her even after having the opportunity to come clean, and still tried to play the victim. Rachel just wasn't having it anymore, and things were about to changearound McKinley. Change in a _big_ way.

A/N- This is my first story. I've been reading fanfic for a while and I finally sucked it up and tried to write my own. I do plan on continuing this. If anyone might possible want to Beta let me know. Now I won't be one of those authors who asks for reviews but I would love to know what you think.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for all the support! I hope you continue to like it**

Quinn Fabray was a complicated person. Just one look at her and you could figure that out. Her blonde hair was pulled into a perfect ponytail, her Grace Kelly-esque features formed a serious expression that when matched with her deep, soulful hazel eyes made for an intimidating combination. That was especially true when her eyes were narrowed in a glare, taking in all of her surroundings, constantly in motion, observing her domain. Her body was generally found to be perfectly proportional and she had perfect posture and it was all safely enshrined in the red and white armor of the McKinley High Cheerleading uniform.

For those who knew her history, her demeanor was unurprising, but that was a privilege few-if any-could boast. Growing up in a home with a verbally abusive, alcoholic, Bible-thumping father and a mother who was only worried about her next glass of vodka, you quickly learn the ways of the world. Or your world, at least.

Quinn was constantly pushed to be the best; to always have the best grades, the right friends, the right ideas. God was all knowing and all prevailing. In her world, He hated fags, He condemded those with tattoos, and those who were "different," but He always supported her father.

Quinn was a smart girl. By the time she was in middle school she knew that the ideas that her father pushed on her weren't right. She knew just by reading the Bible by herself that God was supposed to be about forgiveness and love and that it wasn't up to her to judge anyone. That did't mean that she was free to act on her beliefs, however. No, Quinn still had quite a way to go before she could leave the lights of Lima in her rearview mirror. She still had to live up to the expectations placed upon her by her parents and the inhabitants of her narrow-minded small town.

With her looks, brains and abilities, people bent to her will wherever she went. It didn't hurt that her father was known around town as an influencial man with the bank account to back it up. She quickly surrounded herself with some of the few people she knew she could trust. With Santana on her right, full of brash wit and swift action, and Puck on her right with his muscles and street savvy, she ruled the school. They'd cemented their bond with their mutual desire to leave Lima and the lack of support they had in their families. When Brittany moved there in the seventh grade Santana had formed an instant bond and Britt was added to their little group. She brought an element of light-hearted fun to their dynamic and helped them to relax when they needed it.

By high school everything seemed to be on track. Sophomore year she was already captain of the Cheerios, dating the quarterback of the football team, president of the Celibacy Club and had her father's approval. Not that she really needed the last part-but it didn't hurt that he was fond of tossing money her way as a reward any time she pleased him. She would beam and thank him, before going to her room and hiding it with the rest of her cash in a tucked-away corner. Just in case.

Everything was going great... and then it all came crashing down.

The first day of school in her sophomore year was when she saw her for the first time. She was just a little slip of a thing with think chocolate locks flowing down her back and legs that went on for days. She was wearing a blue, yellow, and white plaid skirt with a yellow sweater that had a poodle on it, with knee-high white socks and Mary Janes. Quinn's mind, and body had both frozen. The world seemed to pause even if only for a second. She had barely been able to breathe. The world around her had seemed to disappear, everything but this one girl.

Quinn had never felt so out of control in her life. It was what caused her next course of action. She'd grabbed a blue raspberry slushy out of the hands of one of the jocks standing around in the hall and walked straight up behind the girl she still hadn't taken her eyes off of. For her first official act as HBIC of McKinley high, she did something she would probably never forgive herself for, but at the time she had seen it as her only possible saving grace. She grabbed the girls arm with her free hand, turned her around and dumped the slushy on top of her head.

"Sorry Manhands," she'd said. "I just thought the blue might help tie in your whole outfit." Without looking at the girl, she had turned around and tossed her next statement back over her shoulder. "Welcome to Lima and please, enjoy life on the bottom. Geek."

_It was necessary_, the blonde had told herself as she'd sashayed to her next class, ignoring the lingering looks from many in the halls. The girl would have been her undoing and that just wouldn't be acceptable. Not when she was so close to getting out of this crummy town that she could practically see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Only a few weeks later, she had found herself sprawled across Puck's bed, and Puck himself, drunk on wine coolers. It had turned out that the girl, Rachel, was in all but two of her classes. Yes, one Rachel Berry would definitely be the end of Quinn Fabray. Especially if her current situation was anything to go by. Just watching her day in and out for a few weeks has her at the house of one of her best friends, who she just had sex with, who wasn't even her boyfriend. Everything about Rachel Berry drove Quinn insane to the point that she would do almost anything to feel normal again. Whether it was due to the girl's obsession with Broadway and her overly bright smile, or her sinfully gorgeous legs or her adorably charming lack of fashion, the effect Rachel had on Quinn was potent. And it was her downfall.

After that one act of rashness with Puck filled with denial and need to _fix_ whatever was going on in her head, nothing seemed to go right for Quinn. Pregnancy, homelessness, loneliness, mood swings, stretch marks. It was a disaster and only one perfect thing came out of the whole mess, even if she couldn't keep her. Because of Beth, she could never truly regret running to Puck in her moment of weakness.

That's why when junior year had started, she had been so determined to get back on track. It had begun when her mother let her move back in after she had kicked her father out for being unfaithful with some "tattooed freak." Quinn had spent that summer getting back in shape and practically forcing her way back into the ranks of the Cheerios.

Living back home helped. She no longer had to worry about money, or making her parents proud. She could focus on getting back and staying on top and making damn sure that she would be able to leave this town in two years. Despite the risk to her reputation, she had also stayed in Glee. It made her happy and it gave her an excuse to watch Rachel and enjoy the energy that came with the group. Even if she did have to date Sam to keep up appearances.

Some good things _had_ come from being back to the HBIC. She had been able to put a moratorium on the torment that Rachel been subjected to, and had begun a tentative friendship with her through Glee. It was this almost-friendship thing that now had Quinn standing in the parking lot on the cold January morning that was the start of the rest of the school year after winter break. The glare on her face kept everyone but Brittany away. She, like everyone else still outside, was curious about the sleek expensive car that had never before been seen in the lot, but she was more concerned with making sure that she saw Rachel this morning. It was why she didn't even notice Brittany's bouncing and jittering, nor did she see when Britt bounded off as the new car's door opened. It was only when she heard the tall blonde squeal that she turned back to the scene.

"Oh my gosh, Rach! This is so exciting! Does this mean what I think it means? Are you finally "coming out'?"

That definitely caught Quinn's attention. Her imagination ran wild with thoughts of a "Rach" "coming out." _I could only hope_, she thought. But there wasn't much of a chance of that being _her_ Rach.

"Ducky calm down!"

That voice. She knew that voice. It was one she heard nearly every night in her dreams.

"It means exactly what you think it does. Are you with me?" She heard Rachel say. What were those two up to? And when did Rachel get that car?

Quinn had no idea what was going on but she was definitely intrigued. It didn't help that when Brittany moved she could finally see the person she had been looking for all morning. And as she looked, just like a year ago, her mind and body seemed to freeze once again. Quinn fleetingly wondered why she still hadn't gotten used to the effect Rachel seemed to have on her.


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks everyone for reading! I hope you continue to like it. I'm working on the next few chapters right now. And I'd like to thank my awesome Beta Anti-Gravity111 for making this story even better and even going back to edit the first two chapters!**

As Rachel walked through McKinley, she blatantly ignored all the looks and whispers going on around her. The only intereseting thing she noticed was that Quinn seemed to be in some sort of daze.

She walked to her locker with Brittany next to her babbling away about her winter break. Since Rachel had spent most of her time away from Lima that had quite a bit to catch up on.

When they got to Rachel's locker, Brittany dropped her voice, catching Rachel's attention. "Okay Rae," She said, her voice serious. "So what's really going on? Why give up the charade? Especially after all you've put yourself through to keep it up?"

Rachel looked around and saw that while people were staring they weren't really paying attention to what the girls were saying. "Britt, I've just finally had enough. I couldn't stand letting Finn get away with everything anymore. And I really wanted to shake things up. What better way then to be the _real_ Rachel?"

Brittany nodded her head. She could definitely understand, but mostly she was just glad that she would finally have her best friend available all the time. She of course loved Santana and Quinn, but Rachel would always be her best friend and all of the pretending was getting to be too hard. Especially after all the drama between Santana, Rachel and Finn that had surfaced before break.

"Okay so what's the plan?" Brittany asked. If she knew one thing about Rachel it was that the other girl always had a plan.

Rachel closed her locker and grabbed her bag, looping her arm aroud the tall blonde's waist. "For now," the little brunette said, "just go along with it. Act like you would normally but with your front up if you want. And prepare for Glee. I think you'll find it entertaining." The gleam in Rachel's eye caused a few people in the hall to take a step back at the sight of it.

While Brittany was opening her locker, Rachel was leaning against the one next to her watching the halls as she caught her up on all the things that happened in Colmbus and the New Year's party she missed had missed out on.

"... and then while everyone was looking around for Drew, we heard this strang mewling noise coming from somewhere outside. Turns out Drew had managed to get herself stuck in the tree house outside and was too scared to yell for anyone's help!" Brittany was laughing so hard she didn't even notice Santana come up from behind her until she heard her speak to Rachel.

"Well damn Hobbit! Look at you. What, did Polly Pocket finally decide to take her clothes back?"

Brittany studiously kept her head in her locker. She couldn't look at the Latina without feeling sad. It wasn't that she wanted the girl to be out and proud, she just wished she would tell her how she feels about her. She would even settle for continuing a real relationship in secret, as long as Santana would be with her exclusively. There was just onlyl so much a girl could take and as much as Brittany loved Santana, she couldn't let her gay panic hurt her anymore than she already had. She had to protect her own heart.

"No," Rachel replied, a little smirk forming at the corner of her mouth, "but Satan called. He said that if you don't step up your pathetic game soon, he wants his name back. He honestly does expect the fire and brimstone, huh?" The innocent tone she used couldn't hide the snark in the statement.

Ignoring the shocked look on the Cheerio's face, Rachel grabbed Brittany's arm and pulled her to their first class. It always shocked everyone that Britt was in all the advanced classes but they all just assumed that Coach Sylvester pulled some strings so she could stay on the Cheerios with the rest of the Unholy Trinity. Little did they know, Brittany received all of her grades through her own academic merit. Even many of the teachers thought someone else was doing the work for her.

Rachel was sure Brittany could have an acting career if she wanted.

For the rest of the day, the two girls were glued at the hip and it was throwing the student body off even more than the little diva's new clothes. As the day progressed, rumors were flying, and all of the Glee members were anxious to get to practice to get the real story behind Rachel's change. Since none of them were in any of Rachel's classes they hadn't been able to corner her.

When the time for Glee finally came around, everybody but Finn, Rachel and Brittany was in the choir room. When the two girls finally walked in, they were giggling with their heads bent close together, whispering about something the others couldn't hear.

"Jew babe! What's with the new look? It's totally hot." It wasn't really a surprise to anyone that Puck was the first to comment. He sent Rachel a wink and a suggestive wiggle of his eyebrows as he spoke. She dragged Brittany to the back row to sit next to him. All eyes were watching, waiting to see what would happen and if they would get an explanation.

"What new look, Rach? Did I not notice something?"

The other Gleeks stared at Brittany, surprised that the "ditzy" blonde didn't notice anything different.

"Noah," the smaller girl said. "So nice of you to notice, but this really isn't that new of a look, but this is what I normally dress like-well away from McKinley anyway. Do you like it?" she asked in a coyly. Batting her eyelashes coquettishly, she gestured down her body to the tight fitting clothing. "And no Britt, you didn't miss anything." Everyone was so shocked at hearing Rachel's term of endearment for the blonde Cheerio that they didn't even notice the wink she sent her.

Before anyone else could make a comment Finn walked in the room. Confusion etched across his features as he noticed the silence. As dense as the boy was, even _he_ knew something wasn't right. The look of confusion only became more pronounced as he saw Rachel for the frist time that day. No one knew if it was more from her choice in clothing or the fact that she was sitting between Puck and Brittany.

"Rachel," they heard him say. "What are you doing? What are you wearing? This isn't like you. Is this you trying to get me back? I broke up with you for good this time." His fake concern wasn't fooling anyone. His tone was more condescending than anything else.

The tension in the room rose so much it was almost palpable. It was like watching a tennis match as the group looked from Rachel to Finn and back again. No one knew exactly what to expect with this new Rachel.

"Excuse me?" It was the first noise in the room after the tense moment of silence. "Finn I think you've taken to many sacks on the football field. First, I broke up with you. You're the one who lied to me about your sleeping with Santana after I gave you plenty of chances to come clean. Second, this is me and I'm sitting with my friends waiting for Glee to start. And third, I'm wearing clothes. It's against school policy, as well as generally frowned upon by the general public, not to wear them. I didn't think you were so dumb that you wouldn't recognize them. Now will you please get that stupid, constipated look off your face? If it's really that bad I'm sure you could go to the school nurse. I'm sure she might help something to help fix that."

No one said a word, nor did they make a noise. They were just given even more to process and it seemed to almost make them catatonic, nearly everyone's jaw's hanging open. The look on Finn's face made it seem that he didn't even know what just happened.

"Holy shit! Midget's got a back bone after all." Santana's exclamation seemed to wake the others up even if they still couldn't form any words. The only sound in the room as Mr. Schue walked in was Santana cackling at the verbal smackdown of Finn Hudson.

"Okay guys," Mr. Schuester said as he clapped his hands together in the front of the room. "I figured that since today is the first day back of the semester, we would have a free day. Maybe you could sing something about how your break went and we can get started on preparing for Regionals next week."

He looked around when he didn't get a response and was confused by the looks on all the student's faces. "Are you guys okay?"

"Everything is great Mr. Schue," Rachel responded. "But if you don't mind I have something I'd like to perform?" Rachel was up and walking to the front before he could even say anything. He shook his head and just moved off to the side. He had noticed Rachel's different attire in class today and he couldn't help but be curious about what she would sing to go along with it.

After Rachel walked away from her hushed communication with the band with a smirk that the group was beginning to recognize, there was no denying that this would be interesting. Puck sat up a little bit straighter as he recognized the opening chrods. Quinn, seeing the movement out of the corner of her eye as well as the sway in Rachel's hips, sat up to pay attention.

_She was a woman on a mission_

_Here to drown him and forget him_

_So I set her up again to wash him down_

_She had just about succeeded_

_When that low-down no good cheatin'_

_Good for nothin' came struttin' through the crowd_

Everyone looked to Finn. He was sitting in the chair, just watching with a dopey smile on his face as he thought how hot Rachel looked. He started to think that if she was going to be more like this, maybe he would date her again. Maybe this time she would put out. As he slowly realized what song she was singing and just what the song was saying, his face slowly changed to form a pout.

_Ah he was layin' it on so thick_

_He never missed a lick_

_Professing his never ending love_

_Oh but I never will forget_

_When she stood up and said_

_So I guess you think we're just gonna kiss and make up dontcha_

_That's when she said.._

_Why don't you kiss, kiss this_

_And I don't mean on my rosy red lips_

_Me and you, we're through_

_And there's only one thing left for you to do_

_You just come on over here one last time_

_Pucker up and close yours eyes_

_And kiss this goodbye_

Nobody could deny that Rachel, no matter what she was wearing or how she was acting, was anything less than an amazing performer, and this song just seemed to reenforce that. She was so entrancing and she had the whole room moving along to the music, their eyes never leaving her.

_Well the next thing I recall_

_She had him back against the wall_

_Chewin' him like a bulldog on a bone_

_She was puttin' him in his place_

_And I mean right up in his face_

_Draggin' him down a list of done me wrongs_

_Well it was just about now_

_That the crowd gathered 'round_

_They've come to watch him pay for his every sin_

_She called him everything under the sun_

_And when we thought that she was done_

_She rared back and she let him have it again, man_

_She said, she said..._

_Why don't you kiss, kiss this_

_And I don't mean on my rosy red lips_

_Me and you, we're through_

_And there's only one thing left for you to do_

_You just come on over here one last time_

_Pucker up and close yours eyes_

_And kiss this_

_Kiss this_

_And I don't mean on my rosy red lips_

_Me and you, we're through_

_And there's only one thing left for you to do_

_You just come on over here one last time_

_Pucker up and close yours eyes_

_And kiss this goodbye_

_Kiss this goodbye_

_(See ya)_

As the song ended, the room was quiet once more. It seemed that Rachel could silence a room and she didn't really see that as a bad thing. She liked having shock and awe on her side.


	4. Chapter 4

Santana Lopez was one badass bitch and she would be the first to tell you. She was hot, popular, wicked smart and more ruthless than Genghis Khan. Everyone knew that to cross her was, at the very least, social suicide.

The fiery Latina grew up in a loving home when she was younger. Her parents were gone a lot, they were important people with busy jobs but they always made time for her. Still, a lot of her time was spent with her abuela before she passed or at a friends house, usually Quinn's. Over the years her parents were home less and less. On the off chance that they were there, the house wasn't filled with laughter and love like it used to be. Just silence. Time and distance had created even more space until that was all that was left. By the time Santana started high school she was basically living by herself. It made her glad that she was an only child. Quinn, Puck, and eventually Brittany helped make everything better and they understood her so well. They helped to dispel the loneliness. Especially Brittany.

From the moment she met her, Santana knew there was something very special about the bubbly blonde. The things she'd say and her optimistic views helped her to be happier than she'd been since her parents were still parents.

When their little band of four entered high school it brought up new worries and many changes. How would they manage to stay in control? What would help them get out of this town the most? The girls had been in cheerleading for a year already and they liked it well enough, not to mention it was expected of them, but both Quinn and Santana saw the advantages. Everyone knew Sue Sylvester and they all knew that wherever she was, there was power.

Being popular in high school came with more expectations. It meant more parties, which meant more alcohol, which meant horny teenagers. Santana figured that if Quinn had the perfect, chaste princess on dibs then she'd be the heartless, slutty, second-in-command bitch. By her third high school party she'd lost her virginity. She couldn't really tell you with who because the amount of alcohol consumed affected her memory, but it helped cement her place.

It all changed one night at Puck's. It was only a small group of kids with nothing better to do then get drunk. It was only December of their freshman year but Puck already had a reputation by then of being able to supply booze and an empty house. They had all been playing truth or dare when someone dared Brittany to take Santana in to the closet for a round of 7 minutes in Heaven.

When they went in the closet Brittany turned the smaller girl around to face her, grabbed her face gently with both hands and kissed her softly.

"There," she said. "This way if they ask, we really did kiss."

Santana was shocked. She'd never kissed another girl before. Having grown up in a Catholic family she'd been taught that being "that way" was a sin. She even heard that from Quinn's family. She'd never had any personal incidents with it yet though. It wasn't like Lima was a gay Mecca or anything, it was just your regular small, conservative town. Guys couldn't hug each other without hearing fag yelled at them. It was part of why that squirrelly kid, Kent or something, was bullied. It was just how things went.

None of that seemed to stop her in that moment. When Brittany moved away from her she pulled her back in to another kiss.

She'd never felt anything so electric. None of the guys she'd ever kissed had made her feel like this. Even after they parted her lips still tingled.

When they rejoined the group after their time was up they sat next to each other, glancing at each other with shy smiles, pinkies linked on the floor between them. After that they officially became Brittany and Santana. you didn't usually see one without the other. It wasn't like they were dating or anything, no definitely not that, and they never talked about what was happening, but something had definitely changed. They'd even go on their dates together, which only seemed to make them more popular. THey guys liked it even more when they made out and that was more than fine for both girls.

The first time they had sex was one night at cheer camp when they'd snuck out of their dorms to go sit by the lake near the camp grounds the summer before sophomore year. They sat on the grass and just talked about anything and everything. During a lull in the conversation Brittany leaned over and kissed Santana softly, just like she had that first time. The beating of the dark haired girl's heart skipped every so often. From there the kiss grew heated the more feelings were poured into it. The make out session turned to the girls giving free reign to their passion as they let go.

After that summer things changed once again. Santana had no idea what she was supposed to do, what she was feeling. It was all completely foreign to her. She wasn't gay. No, she slept with guys and had even gotten off with a few of them, she couldn't really be gay. And she wasn't homophobic. She knew all about Quinn being in lesbians with the little singing elf and still was friends with her. But Britt was her best friend. She knew her better than she knew herself and she knew that Brittany had more feelings for her than just friendship but that wasn't really her problem. Quinn's baby drama helped to keep her mind off everything. Even better Quinn had put the hit out on the little Jewish dwarf in some form of backwards courtship so she had someone to take her stress out on.

Over the next year she denied her feelings and focused on staying the Head Bitch and keeping Glee running while making it look like she was trying to sabotage it. On top of all that she and to make sure that Quinn and Puck were ok and that they weren't too screwed up with their lizard baby issues. They might be some of the people closest to her, but that didn't mean they got out of her snark.

The few times where she did think about her situation with Britt only left her feeling more confused. It that she was even denying anything anymore, well not to her herself at any rate, she just had no idea what to do. What would everyone say? How would they react? Would Sylvester kick them off the Cheerios? What would her parents do? They might not really be parents any more but that didn't mean that deep down Santana didn't crave their approval and there was no way they'd go for a gay daughter.

When junior year started Santana could admit, in her own mind, that she was helplessly in love with Brittany. She still couldn't, no wouldn't, do anything about it; although their alone time together did seem to slow down and become noticeably more intimate. It was progress though and if she ever managed to get out of this town it would be so much easier.

The tall dancer seemed to accept it all even if she didn't necessarily like it. But she never out right said anything to Santana. They were still joined at the pinkies and the darker Cheerio was sure that even if she'd never said the words the other girl knew how she felt. She hoped anyway. Santana had even stopped sleeping around so much, not stopped completely, but there were definitely less guys in the picture, she did still have a rep to protect.

When they got back from break to start the second semester Santana was completely thrown by how Brittany had ignored her and spent all day with Berry of all people. She hadn't done anything to piss the girl off. She had no idea what the cold shoulder that she'd received that morning had been for, Hell she'd even complimented the Hobbit! The only time the two had been apart was on New Year's and even then they were at the same party the whole time. They'd even kissed not longer after midnight. It would have been right after the countdown if Santana's date hadn't made sure to stay on her hip the entire night. She was so over football players and their clinginess.

The cheerleader made sure to watch the girls as closely as she could throughout the day. It was all too strange to really comprehend. Berry's outfit, their sudden friendship, Berry's witty repartee. It just didn't make any sense. The happenings in Glee club certainly didn't help matters. Since when did Manhands not want to mate with the overgrown Man-Child?

Part of why Santana let it slip about Finn actually sleeping with her was because she thought that the little Diva was too good for him, not that anyone would ever find out about that. She just knew that the girl had talent and he would only hold her back. Not that anyone would ever find out about her thinking that either.

What was even more surprising was when the little brunette verbally bitch slapped the freakishly tall oaf and then called him out on that horrible look he constantly had on his face. Honestly, how could anyone find that attractive. She'd only slept with the boy because she was supposed to. Like he'd said, it didn't mean anything.

Berry's performance had even been pretty badass. Who knew the little Jew had it in her! Maybe she wasn't so bad after all. It had even been what one could consider hot if the look on Q's face was anything to go by. How could no one see that she was in to the songstress? Her gay was totes showing and their mutual eye-fucking usually made her and B's macking sessions even better.

When Rachel had finished her song, before anyone could have any response, Brittany had jumped down to her and picked her up to swing her around in a hug. The singer's resulting laughter was something the club had never heard before. It was deep and flowing and unconsciously made everyone bar Finn, smile just a little bit.

"Oh my gosh Rae," they all heard the blonde girl say. "That was like, totally awesome! you seriously have to do stuff like that more often!"

While nothing about this was too shocking, it made Santana pause. Rae. She knew that name. She knew Brittany had a Rae as her best friend, even if hearing that cause the Latina to huff a little bit, but there was no way that Rachel Berry was Brittany's BFF Rae. Rae was a name that was heard constantly if you spent more than a few minutes talking to the dancer. After she moved to Lima there was always a story about Rae to be heard. She even still went to Columbus at least once a month to see her. It seemed that all evidence her was against her. She definitely needed to get this all straightened out and now.

"Hold up a minute," she started. "Rae. Did you just call her Rae. As in Little Rae of Sunshine and 'I'm going to see Rae this weekend, sorry Sanny, Rae?" The incredulous tone in her voice was clearly heard throughout the room. Her comment managed to pull Quinn out of her Berry induced fantasy.

The two girls who were standing in the middle of the room seemed to have a conversation within seconds just by communicating through their eyes. No one knew what to make of it.

"Yes Santana," Rachel said. "I am in fact the Rae you are referring to but if you don't mind can we please discuss this at a later time? At the present both Brittany and I have somewhere we need to be. If you will excuse us."

The group felt a little sembelance of normality at the diva's verbose response but it wasn't quite enough for anybody to be able to react in time to stop the two girls before they left the room. Even Mr. Schuester was so lost that he dismissed them for the rest of the day, unsure that any one would be able to perform after that.

Santana sat there as everyone aroudn her left. She could hear the muted mumblings and she even saw Mercedes texting away, most likely to Kurt, no doubt informing him of all the drama he missed.

Quinn walked over to her fellow Cheerio, waiting for her to say something.

"Q," She starts. Her tone more than a little bewildered. "Did that really just happen? You saw all that right?"

"Yeah San," the blonde girl said. "It really happened. Who would have ever thought that Berry would be Britts mysterious best friend. I just want to know what's going on. And why bring all of this out now?"

The two friends walked out to the parking lot lost in thought.

"So since those two apparently have plans, do you want to come over?" The Cheerio captain offered.

Santana just nodded her head. If B was going to ditch her she might as well go over to Q's house. She really wasn't in the mood for dealing with the emptiness in her own right now.

When they walked in to Quinn's room, they both immediately plopped down on her bed facce down like they were hiding from the rest of the world. Quinn reached a hand out to her night stand lazily searching for a small remote to put so music on.

_And since your history of silence_

_Won't do you any good,_

_Did you think it would?_

_Let your words be anything but empty_

_Why don't you tell them the truth?_

_Say what you wanna say_

_And let the words fall out_

_Honestly I wanna see you be brave_

Of course this was what Quinn had playing. Leave it to the closet case worse than her to be listening to inspiratriontal indie music shit. "For fucks sake Q! Can you pleaase turn this shit off to something even half way decent?" There was no way sshe could handle being told to grow some balls from some stupid song that souded like some shit the dwarf would spew. Not after everything that had gone down that day.

"You know S," she heard her friend start, voice slightly muffled since she hadn't raised her head from the pillow. "There's no need to take out your issues on my music. Do you want to talk about it?"

_Jesus Christ_, the latina thought. Sometimes it really sucked having a nosy, perceptive bitch for a best friend. Although she did have to wonder why Quinn would even ask that. She was supposed to be smart. If she told her to turn the shit off why would she think that was an invitation to talk about her feelings?

"I don't know Tubberes. Do you feel like talking about the rainbow flag flying over your head? It seemed to grow in size when you saw Yentl today."

HBIC or not, it always felt good when Santana put someone in their place. The look of consternation she received from the other girl was was really only equal to the amount of blush that had appeared on her pale cheeks.

"Fine." The blonde girl said. "Be like that S. Maybe that's your problem anyway. I get it. It was just an offer and it's open any time. But here's a question. what would you do if I said yes? Give me more shit? What if I did want to talk about Rachel? I know what my problem is and it's completely different from yours and you know it." Santana could tell that she was genuinely upset. That didn't stop her defenses from staying up though. Once she was in defend mode she couldn't really stop.

"Geez bitch. Pregnancy hormones should be gone by now." She knew it was a low blow but she really couldn't help herself. She did try to make it a little better. "But if you _really_ wanted to talk, I guess I could try and listen. I mka eno promises to not say anything though."

Quinn turned and gave her a long look. "It's okay. You don't have to worry. I'm fine. Hell, maybe her being Britt's friend is a good thing. It might be my chance to really get close to her. I'm sure will be spending more time with her since she and B are out as best friends now."

Well shit. Santana hadn't even thought about that. She'd been too busy trying to process what the hell had happened to even really think about any of the consequences. Did this mean that Berry would be squeezing in on her mack time with her Britt-Britt? This could not end well. Not at all.

The two girls spent the rest of the night doing their homework and bickering back and forth almost without noticing. Their minds were more occupied with other things. One was dreaming about what could happen now and if she might get a happy ending after all. The other was scheming of ways to make sure that this didn't make things any more complicated in her careful ordered world.


	5. Chapter 5

**Thanks again for all the reviews and follows/favorites and support! **

Rachel and Brittany practically skipped out to Rachel's car. they were both laughing, reeling Rachel's ability to make the Gleeks speechless. The smaller girl did always get a thrill from a performance, even if it was as herself.

On the ride to Rachel's house they continued to talk about everyone's reaction. "I mean did you see the look on Finn's face? Totally priceless," Brittany said. "And you definitely earned points with Santana. I always knew you two would get along, if you didn't kill each other. There are times I could swear you two had been separated at birth. And don't even get me started on Quinn."

The taller girl couldn't contain her enthusiasm and Rachel could only giggle in response.

"Oh Ducks," she said. The childhood nickname coming out in affection for her friend. Even if she and Brittany still talked all the time, it was still nice to be able to be open with their affections now."I don't know why I didn't put in any of this in to play sooner. It will make things so much more interesting. As for Santana and I. We will get along when she starts treating you right. Now that I'm me, she better get her head out of her ass or I'll remove it for her. And Quinn. Well, I'm curious as to how that will play out. But as for right now, she's still with Sam. As if that isn't a bearded match made in heaven."

Brittany thought for a moment as the walked in to Rachel's house. They continued on to the kitchen and Rachel was almost bowled over by a blur of white and gold. It was her dog Levi, who as an interesting mix of husky and golden retriever, and Brittany could only laugh at the two since Levi on his hind legs was nearly as tall as Rachel herself. She watched as the two did a little dance together before Levi turned his attentions to the other girl. He jumped on her with nearly the same enthusiasm making sure to get lots of attention. He was almost as big of an attention seeker as his mistress.

"You know Rae, there's more to Quinn than anyone can imagine," Brittany spoke, continuing their conversation from the car. "She can totally see right through me and there's a reason she's always top bitch. I know you know what I'm talking about."

Rachel turned around from getting them something to drink to give her best friend a long look. She was thinking over what she said. They talked to each other about everything so Rachel already knew what Brittany knew about Quinn and Brittany knew about Rachel's soft spot for Quinn. Rachel's something of a crush grew because there were a few times during her act that she could see the beautiful girl that lay behind the Ice Queen exterior as well as the sadness and strength in the other girl's eyes. To be honest Rachel had always been surprised that Quinn had never called her out on her little charade. She was sure that if anyone could figure it out it would be here. She'd say Santana but she always seemed to wrapped up in Brittany or boys to really pay attention.

Not wanting to get in to anything heavy at the moment, Rachel just shrugged one of her shoulders and nodded her head in response to Brittany's statement and suggested they go upstairs and just relax before they had to go to one of their dance classes later. That was another benefit to coming clean. Now the girls could be dance partners in class without having to be "forced" together. They couldn't before unless it got back to one of the head bitches at McKinley and that would have had the potential to ruin everything.

After just hanging out for a while, Brittany finally asked Rachel for more details about what had happened.

"Well," the little brunette started as she looked down, trying to gather her thoughts. "I don't know B. I was just so fed up. I mean, you know how much I really didn't like Finncompetent. Hell, the whole reason I went after him is because of eveything you really told me about him and Quinn and the fact that he was 'great leading man material' and all the drama it caused. But mostly this was just the first chance I had to finally get rid of him. I couldn't do anything before because you were the only person to tell me about him and Santana. I had to wait for someone else to slip or risk you being my source, althought I'm sure we could have played that off if we'd needed too. After you told me about them when it happened I was just going to leave him alone. But then when he kept coming after me, since I wasn't supposed to know the truth, I really couldn't say no. Espeically since I was since I was supposed to be so downtrodden because of Jesse. So I started thinking about what my course of action would be when it did come out, because let's face it, that was just too juicy to stay secret forever. And I realized that depending on when, it could be the perfect time to just throw everything in an entirely different direction and I could come out as the _real_ Rachel. It would be great. It would show Finn what he was missing and completely change the palying field. After everything that's been happening this year, I was just ready for different and when it all came to light and with the way Santana's still been treating you, well there really was no other option. Now we can take the school by storm, no one will know what hit them and Santana can see that it's not really you that _needs_ her, even if that last part is a little bit true. It might help her if she can see that she could lose you."

Hearing the entire explanation caused Brittany to be able to do nothing more shake her head. You really could always count on Rachel to think everything through. Call her crazy but the girl definitely had skill.

"As for what's going to happen now, that all depends on everyone else. I don't what reactions I'm going to receive tomorrow or even through the next few weeks. I have no idea what explanation I'm going to give although I'm leaning twoards the truth with 'because I felt like it,' but I'm not sure that would be appreciated." This had really been the only hang up with this part of the plan. Rachel had thought quite often about what would happen when she revealed herself. She figured that since Rachel Barbra Berry *Gold Star, was really only an over dramatization of her true self, it wouldn't be that bad of a transition. She honestly was a diva with a love for the dramatics and a gift with music, just not quite as obsessive.

Rachel looked at her friend as she finished giving thought to that she'd said and looked to Brittany to see if she had any other questions. The blonde dancer couldn't think of anything at the moment and they decided to head to class early and maybe to get a quick practice in before it started.

The next day at school had everyone on the tips of their toes. After the shock of yesterday, they were all curious to see what would come from today. Everyone had seen what had happnened in the choir room yesterday. It seemed that it paid off for Jewfro to be a stalker as he had managed to get the entire thing on tape in his obession in stalking Rachel.

Finn had now become the laughingstock of the school. Not only had the resident diva and bottom-dweller Berry broken up with _him_ but she also turned out to be pretty hot with a sweet ass car. Berry's popularity points had risen as people had seen her car, and clothes and especially the hot performance she'd given yesterday.

When everyone saw her walk in with Brittany for the second day in a row and continue on like they'd done it everyday since forever, it was completely surreal. No one knew what to say.

The crowded hallway watched as the other two-thirds of the Unholy Trinity made their way to the unsuspecting girls. The students braced themselves for the confrontation. It would set how the rest of the student body enteracted with the diva from now on. Would she go back to being on the bottom? Or would this mean that Berry was now off limits?

"What the Hell is going on?" The volume of the interruption would have been startling if Brittany hadn't expected something like this to happen this morning. She was surprised at who it came from, she'd expected Santana to be the one to initiate anything, not Quinn. She knew there was no way her two friends would let this go without getting at least a few answers, especially after the escape she and Rachel had made yesterday that had probably only left them with more questions.

She was bracing herself to face the girl she loved. When she turned from her locker, she had no doubt she would see a look of hurt in the latina's eyes. It was difficult being around her. Especially when the other girl wouldn't admit to anything. She was sure that the only reason anyone even knew they had sex was because of how affectionate they were. Brittany knew that most of the school seemed to know about them, and most didn't seem to care, she didn't know why Santana couldn't reacognize that. Everytime Santana denied her, it made the ache in her heart hurt that much more.

Despite what most people thought, Brittany was far from stupid. Growing up she had many "blonde" moments and she'd always thought on a different wave length than other people and it had made many judge her before ever really getting a chance to see her. Early on, she'd noticed how much more she could see or hear, or how she'd be overlooked because people thought she just wouldn't understand. She could get away with so much just by acting a little "ditzy." The only person, besides her family, to really see who Brittany was, was Rachel and then later by association, Rachel's dads. Only Rachel knew how intelligent and sly she really was. Even her parents didn't really know everything, they didn't ever realy see her interact with her peers and really only saw how well she did in school and her extracurriculars, they had no reason to ever really find out about her dumb blonde front.

Rachel had been the one to help her perfect her act. She'd made sure to let Brittany know if she said something that maybe sounded a little more intelligent than what she normally did, or if the girl said something that may be just a little too ridiculous, even if it was hilarious. That was what best friends did after all. They two girls had been through so much together. Brittany was the one who helped comfort Rachel when someone said something mean about her family or helpo the girl control her more diva-like tendencies so that she wouldn't be a complete social outcast. They helped each other grow.

It had been hard on both of them when Brittany had moved to Lima but doubly tough on the blonde. At least Rachel still had all their friends from Columbus. Brittany was going to have to start over. The only thing Brittany had looked forward to about the move was being able to live near her Aunt Sue. Aunt Sue was the only who had gotten her involved in dance and gymnastics. They had always been close and she was sure that her Aunt Sue saw her like a daughter since she didn't have any children of her own.

Rachel and Brittany had managed to stay friends after the sereration even with the blonde girl making new friends. It hadn't been hard for the dancer. She had a naturally bubbly personality that no one could seem to not like and she'd been pulled into a group of the popluar kids almost immediately. Brittany didn't mind. She could see that they were all good people that just needed to remember how to be kids sometimes. And she could definitely help them with that.

None of that stoppeed her from missing her best friend though... Her new group of friends had to hear all about her "Best friend Rae" or her "Little Rae of Sunshine" and all of her other Columbus friends. They'd never been able to all meet though since Brittany really only saw Rachel when she would go to Columbus since it was easier and she'd see her there for all of their competitions and her parents never minded because they wanted to see all of their old friends as well.

When Rachel and Brittany received their first cell phones it was like they had never been apart, even if they still didn't see each other everyday. They still told each other everything and they were the go to person when the other had something going on in their life. Rachel had been the one to help Brittany with her feelings for Santana and Brittany had been there when Rachel had been scared that her liking girls would make things even worse for her dads. Rachel was who she talked to when she was upset about her new friends families and lives and didn't know how to help them. She had always known what to do to keep the taller girl sane when her family or Santana was driving her crazy. They just knew each other and nearly everything the other knew and nothing would change that.

Their closeness? was part of why Brittany hadn't been too surprised by Rachel's reasoning for finally acting like herself. Becoming so close to someone that you were more than family made you protective, and she had no doubt that Rachel meant it when she said she'd remove S's head from her ass if the other Cheerio didn't get it in gear. Brittany secretly thought that if Santana went far enough Rachel might just remove her head period. It was also why she wasn't surprised that part of Rachel's reasoning was Quinn. She knew that both girls could easily fall in love if they were ever given the chance. They would just fit like puzzle pieces, she hoped that this might help bring on an opportunity for them to get closer. They were already half way there if the gooey eyes they made at each other was any indication.

As Brittany was giving this all thought, she was waiting to hear what Rachel's reply would be. She knew that her best friend could see that she wasn't ready and she had full faith that Rachel would cover for her.

"Hello Quinn, Santana. How are you this morning? Fine, I hope. You do both look like you might use a cup of coffee if you don't mind me saying. I almost feel like I should give you a detailed account about how important it is to get a proper night's rest but I'm sure that that was not what are were referring to. If you don't mind, I'm sure I don't know what you meant. Would you care to please provide a more narrow inquiry? I'm sure there are many things 'going on'?" Brittany almost laughed. There many things that Rachel had made up as part of her character but her loquaciousness was not one of them. The girl could talk until the people listening were blue in the face, she knew that she did it know to bait the other girls. She'd done it many times before but this time she was little more obvious about it, even if no one else realized that yet. She had always seemed to get a certain thrill from provoking people, Brittany's two friends had always been able to provide a better response than most so Rachel tended to egg them on accordingly.

Before the other two girls said anything they looked at each other, trying to determine the best way to get the answers they desired.

"Look Berry." It seemed like Santana would take the reins on this one. Brittany couldn't help but shake her head. They'd probably get more cooperation if Quinn was the one to interact with Rachel. "We just want to know what all of this," Santana said, gesturing to Rachel and her outfit and then to Brittany and then Rachel again, "is all about. We both think we deserve at the very least a small explanation, don't you think?"

The blonde dancer noticed Rachel looking at her out of the corner of her eye. Subtly she nodded yes in confirmation to Rachel's unasked question. She knew they'd have to tell them at some point, they might as well get it over with.

"Okay that's fair. Why don't you two come over to my house after school. My parents will be out for the weekend so we'll have plenty of time and space to converse about 'all this,'" the small singer offered. It was at this point that Brittany finally shut her locker and turned around. She looked to her fellow Cheerios just to see them nod their heads in acceptance of the plans before she gave them a small smile and dragged Rachel on to their classes.

The rest of the day continued much like the last. Everybody still stared at the two friends, still unsure as to what exactly they were seeing. It was mostly startling because no one had ever seen the girls share more than 10 words before yesterday. And just like the day before none of their fellow Glee members had been able to corner them for answers. Throughout the day all four girls were anxious for the meeting that was going to happen after school. They weren't sure what would happen but they all knew it was the start of a new beginning, whatever that meant.


End file.
